Bliss and Misery
by HMSSparky
Summary: A collection of oneshots about whatever I want to write about. To make up for the boring description have a completely unrelated quote and good life advice. "Quick! It's coming! Dance like an eggplant!" - James.
1. Forest Fire

She sat herself down on the grass and started picking up daises, taking off her white and pink hat and putting them in it. She would've been content to do that all day but for once she had company. Red watched her closely; this was where she disappeared to day after day. It had been difficult to get the chance to follow her, lacking the ability to speak was only half the battle, she would be off early the morning and return just as the sun would dip below the horizon. It was a pattern that was never broken.

After ten minutes she looked up at him and patted the ground next to her, he sat down and she gently balanced his hand on her knee and wound the daises around his thin wrist to form a bracelet. He studied what she did carefully; she was an expert at this, choosing the perfect daises that were the purest of white. When she was finished she started to make one for herself while Red observed the area. It was very out of the way of their small hometown. It was only natural that she'd pick a place so filled with nature, some say that your name affects who you are and that was true for the both of them, Red had a love for fire type Pokémon and, she, Leaf, adored nature.

The sun was shining brightly, as one would expect of summer. Despite loving fire types, Red couldn't stand heat so he moved to sit in the shade of a tree. Leaf followed after him, closing her eyes and drawing her knees up to her chest. Red was often called a voyeur, or words to that effect for the way he would look at people and his stoic demeanour made people feel uncomfortable or threatened. It wasn't that he couldn't feel emotions; he just wasn't good at expressing them. Leaf, on the other hand had mastered it. She didn't need words; her expressions did all the talking. Even now doing something as simple as enjoying the coolness of the shade dozens of emotions were shown through her face.

Another ten minutes later Leaf's eyes reopened and she smiled at Red. The corners of his mouth twitched but he didn't return the smile. Leaf looked up at the large branch above their heads, she contemplated for a few moments on whether or not it would support both their weight. After deciding it would she planned the easiest way to climb up, stand on a nearby rock, jump and grab the branch and then pull herself up. It turns out her upper body strength wasn't as good as she thought but Red helped her up and then did the same a lot more successfully. Leaf swung her legs back and forth and looked at the soft white clouds that dotted the skies. They looked like candyfloss, one of her favourite foods even though she'd only had it once.

The branch bounced precariously with each swing of her legs. Leaf stopped, fearing that it would break. Red seemed to sense this and delicately took hold of her hand. She smiled gratefully and any worries she had petered away and all she focussed on was that moment. Red was her best friend, the only person who could empathise with her, the only person she could say she loved. She hoped he felt the same way but even if he could, he probably wouldn't talk about it. She moved closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Red glanced down at her, she'd never looked so happy.

Time passed slowly, what felt like an hour was in reality a few minutes. It was exactly what Leaf wanted though. Red shifted about uncomfortably which ruined the moment for Leaf. He let go of her hand and she lifted her head up. Her neck ached and both of their hands were sweaty. He jumped down off the branch but Leaf hesitated. It was further down than expected. She looked around for another way down but Red motioned for her to jump off. She trusted him enough to do so and thankfully he caught her, his hands firmly around her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders and he lowered her to the ground. They stayed frozen like that, staring into each other's eyes, both their faces saying everything they wanted to.

It was Leaf who made the first move, standing on her tip toes and bringing her face closer to his. He blushed the colour of his name but that didn't deter her. It was an awkward and timid kiss with his nose digging into her cheek but nevertheless, it had finally happened. Leaf's already large smile grew bigger when she saw that he was smiling too, a small one but it was progress. She then took his hat off his head and ran off with while he chased after her. It would've taken a forest fire to ruin their happiness.


	2. Small Town, Big Dreams

Of course it had to be one of the coldest days of the year when Kris decided that she wanted to go shopping for Christmas presents. Ethan went with her anyway, to be the sensible one. They weren't going far, just to the next town over but they had to take the long route to avoid running into any wild Pokémon. It would've been much easier if they had their own but the local professor wasn't exactly reliable when it came to these sorts of things.

"Ethan, Kris is here!" His mother shouted up the stairs. He didn't need to be told, Kris's footsteps were a complete giveaway of wherever she was.

"Hey Goldie boy! Ready yet? Gosh, you're such a slowpoke." Kris took one of the two scarves wound around Ethan's neck with one swift move and nearly strangled him in the process.

"I don't exactly like the idea of freezing." Ethan snatched his scarf back and tied around her eyes like a blindfold. She pulled it off and chased him around to room trying to do the same to him. They both stopped when they had to catch to their breath, it didn't help that when their eyes met they fell about laughing.

"We should go; it's not snowing right now so if we're quick we can make it back in no time." Kris said, suddenly regaining all her energy. She was already running down the stairs before Ethan could answer. He grabbed his bag and followed after her, she was at the bottom of the stairs talking to his mother, they both looked quite serious but Kris brightened up when she spotted him.

"Let's go then." Ethan opened the door and was struck by the cold. Kris pushed past him and kicked snow into her face as she ran around. He closed the door and noticed a snowman in front of the house. It was wearing a cap backwards and had a red jacket over its twig arms. It took him a few moments to realise that it was meant to be him.

"Do you like it? I was worried I wouldn't finish it in time but then I remembered I was waiting for you." She smiled and he pretended to hit her with his hat. The two of them set off down the long tedious road to Cherrygrove City. It wasn't that bigger than their hometown but it still felt huge compared to New Bark Town.

"So what are you planning on getting? Ethan asked. It was eerily quiet; the only sound they could hear was the crunch of the snow underneath their feet.

"Well, for my mother I'm getting some fancy candles, I'm going to make a card for my dad and send it to him so I'll need a bunch of supplies for that like glitter and those fuzzy little ball things. I'm not telling you what I'm getting for you and your mother and I am going to be ultra stealthy so you don't see." Kris waved her arms around as she spoke, getting close to hitting Ethan in the face multiple times.

"I don't know what I'm getting; I might have to steal your idea of homemade things. They sound like fun." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. Kris skipped ahead and then turned around and skipped right back by his side. They were only half way there by that point and Ethan had to stop to rest.

"Ethan, I have something to tell you." Kris's smile disappeared. He knew that this was serious; she hardly ever called him by his real name.

"What is it then?" He clasped his hands in his lap to stop himself from shaking.

"I'm moving. Next week actually, I'm going to Unova so my mother and I can be closer to my dad. I-I don't know if I want to go or not. I want to be with my dad but I don't want to leave you." Kris blurted out, she looked like she was about to cry. Ethan stood up and hugged her tightly.

"I'll miss you so much, you'll always be my best friend and I'll never forget you or replace you no matter what." He wiped the small tears from her eyes and she smiled. They continued on walking and tried to forget about it so that their last week together wouldn't be completely miserable. It was difficult but they managed it. It was two days before Christmas when she had to go, she'd planned on not telling Ethan so they wouldn't have to say goodbye but she turned up at his doorstep at seven o'clock in the morning.

"Ethan, it's Kris, she wants to talk to you." His mother woke him gently. He stumbled sleepily down the stairs and she ran inside to hug him.

"I wasn't going to do this, I hate saying goodbye but I have to. I'll miss you, I know I've given you your present already but I want you to have an extra one." Kris thrust a small package at him and ran out the door, her arm covering her eyes. Ethan carefully prised the wrapping paper away; it had obviously been done in a hurry. He felt tears well in his eyes when he saw what it was. Her hat, the one she wore all the time. He held it close to his chest as if it was her.


	3. Postcard To Lucas

"Say cheese!" Dawn held a camera out at arm's length and threw her other arm around Barry's shoulders. Barry stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes as she pressed the button and the camera clicked. Dawn saved the photo and then put the camera back into her bag.

"Let's go to the beach and build sandcastles." Barry took off running, his sandals slapping against the stone paving. Dawn went after him, teetering precariously in her sandals that had heels, only small ones but not suitable for running after a hyperactive ten year old boy. Barry was already on his hands and knees by the ocean shovelling the damp sand into a bucket. She had no idea where he'd gotten it.

"This sandcastle needs be at least up to my elbow with turrets and a drawbridge, oh and a moat!" Dawn said, envisioning their glorious sand palace. In her mind they lived there without her pushy mother who made her wear clothes for girls years older than her. She took her sandals off and used them as markers for the length.

"We're going to need more buckets and shovels. Wait here." Barry sped off across the sand while Dawn piled sand into a mound, standing up occasionally to check the height. Barry returned shortly after holding an assortment of different buckets and shovels.

"Where did you get them?" Dawn asked dubiously, taking a large metal shovel that one would use for planting things in a garden.

"I'll return them later." Barry waved his hand and started digging out a moat around the boundaries. Dawn continued to get large amounts of sand and after an hour of work they finally had enough sand at the correct height and length they wanted.

"Now to sculpt our masterpiece." Dawn started to shaped the heap of sand into a square, which was difficult because it had started to dry but Barry took time away from creating defences for the beach royalty to assist Dawn.

"I wonder who will move into our gorgeous sand structure. Perhaps a king and queen. King Barry and his lovely queen, Dawn the Magnificent. They are the grandest pair of people you will ever lay eyes upon. King Barry is a strong, brave king who always wears his crown so everyone knows who is boss. He never lets anyone step out of line but what they don't know is that he is ever so kind to his beautiful queen." Barry spoke as they moulded, telling the story like it was true.

"Yes, Queen Dawn is elegant and feminine to the public but behind closed doors she is wild and fierce. She also has magic powers that she uses to enforce law upon her subjects, she is incredibly secretive about it and the only person that knows about this is her darling king, Barry the Brave. They are the most powerful people around and everyone knows that so sometimes they try to rebel and they use dragon type Pokémon to attack their castle but we have a whole hoard of legendary Pokémon, even Arceus bows down to the king and queen." Dawn took over telling the story. It felt real, like if she just clicked her fingers a bolt of lightning would strike whomever she chose.

"Does that look right? Maybe if you squint." Barry tilted his head at their sandcastle that was lopsided and running into the moat.

"It'll be alright. Let's build the turrets and battlements now." Dawn said hurriedly and filled the buckets up with water so that they could use it to build easily. They were quiet as they built, concentrating on making their sand building as impressive as possible. There were few people on the beach, two young children who were swimming in the ocean with inflatable tubes around their waists and a couple holding hands and hiding behind large sunhats.

"Aw, it's getting late we should be getting back soon. Our mothers will be worrying, then again when aren't they worrying?" Barry stared at the setting sun, willing it to rise again. Their sandcastle wasn't the splendid palace of their imaginations even after all their hard work.

"Wait, I want to take one last picture. Stand by the sandcastle." Dawn scrabbled around in her bag for her camera while Barry took his place, his hand hovering above it slightly as if he were leaning on it.

"You've taken so many pictures, what are you going to do with them all?" Barry asked as she fiddled around with lighting and zoom. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, maybe I could get them developed and then send them as a postcard to Lucas. Say cheese!" She said and took a photo of Barry and their hard work. As soon as she'd pressed the button Barry lost his balance and fell on top of the sandcastle, crushing it. Dawn laughed and jumped on it as well. They lay in the sandy pile laughing for five minutes while everyone on the beach stared at them. But they were in own world as King Barry and Queen Dawn, united against the odds.

**This was a request from Dragonsrule18, I hope you like this.**


	4. Fall

"May get down from there, you could hurt yourself." Brendan yelled up to her as she climbed her way up the tree like an Aipom. It wasn't a particularly tall tree but May was a particularly clumsy and foolish girl, she'd probably lose her footing and land on a rock, it had happened before.

"Stop worrying, I'm nearly at the top anyway!" May shouted back down and waved at Brendan. It didn't help him at all, especially as she didn't think before taking her hand away to wave. May reached the top and cheered loudly, she had a firm grip on the tree but once again only with one hand, the other was punching the air triumphantly.

"Alright you've done it so get down from there." Brendan pleaded with her. She rolled her eyes and made her way back down, the branches seemed to be weaker than before. Seven feet above the ground the branch under her feet snapped and she wasn't able to grab onto anything quickly enough so she fell to the ground, landing with a thud.

"Ow! Brendan, help me please!" May cried out and Brendan came rushing to her side.

"May, I told you not to do that, you never listen to me." Brendan shook his head and May scowled at him.

"Well that helps. What are we going to do? I've hurt my leg really badly." She looked at him anxiously, hoping he'd know what to do, he was the sensible one.

"Are you certain you won't be able to walk?" He glanced nervously at her leg, somewhat expecting to see it mashed to a pulp, it looked fine but bent at an odd angle. When she tried to put any pressure on her leg she screamed.

"Can you carry me?" May asked weakly, her face was pale and she was trembling all over. Brendan stood up and chewed his lower lip nervously. He had the upper body strength of a lemon and they both knew that.

"You know I can't. I could run and get dad to help but I don't want to leave you on your own, not like this." Brendan looked around. They'd been to that forest so many times before and they'd never seen anything dangerous around, the Pokémon always shied away from them and as far as they knew not many people went there either, mainly little kids.

"I'll be fine. It won't take you long, will it?" May reassured him. It would only take around ten minutes but a lot could happen in ten minutes, especially when May was involved. Even if she couldn't move it wasn't completely absurd to assume that she would spontaneously combust.

"Ten minutes, maybe less if I run really quickly. I promise. You are okay with this, right?" He repeated, unsure of who he was trying to comfort.

"Just go, I'm not going to wander off and like you said, ten minutes. I will be absolutely fine." May said, putting on a brave face so he would stop fretting. After checking she'd be okay five more times he took off running out of the forest. He was not at all athletic so within a minute of running his muscles screamed at him to stop but he couldn't, his sister needed him to run.

He burst through the front door of their house; his mother and father were sitting in the kitchen. They both jumped as the door slammed open and Brendan paused a moment to catch his breath.

"You're home early aren't you? Where's May?" His mother asked.

"May's... hurt... she needs help." Brendan gabbled breathlessly. Luckily his father understood what he was trying to say.

"Can you take me to where she is?" His father was already pushing Brendan out the door; he nodded and started running again with his father trailing behind. Brendan had created a hundred and one terrifying scenarios in his head of what could have happened to May in the short time he'd been away. It was relief to see her sitting propped up against a tree, stroking a young Zigzagoon.

"You were right, less than ten minutes. Hi dad." May sounded so casual and happy; barely flinching as their dad carefully examined her leg. Brendan leaned against the tree, closing his eyes and breathing heavily so he didn't pass out from exhaustion and relief. That was the thing about May, no matter how much trouble she got into she would always be okay, and always make Brendan worry.

**I would've posted this sooner but it was a combination of me being ill and it being Wednesday. And one day I will make a cover image for this but for some reason all my limited drawing ability has been reduced to that of a kiwi.**


	5. 1 - Introduction

"Ethan, please look at me when I'm talking to you." His mother slammed her spoon down and Ethan's head jerked up at the sound.

"Sorry mum." He mumbled and looked back at his Pokégear, waiting for Kris to reply to the message he'd just sent her.

"I regret ever buying that for you." His mother sighed and continued eating her cereal. Ethan hadn't touched his. "Anyway, I invited Jolene and Arthur and their daughter round for lunch, the family that moved into Kris's old house, so please be dressed by then."

"I'm going up to my room." Ethan stood up and dragged his feet along the floor and up the stairs, taking his Pokégear with him. He sat on the edge of his bed and hovered his finger over the call button. He pressed it and held the Pokégear up to his ear. It rang twice before Kris picked it up and started talking immediately.

"Hey Goldie boy, how are you? I'm great, Unova is so beautiful especially at night on a Ferris wheel, I went on one in Nimbasa City with this guy I met there, Hilbert. It was actually kind of romantic and we went to the music theatre together. You wouldn't really like it, hey has anyone moved into my old house yet?" Kris's voice was so cheerful that Ethan felt betrayed, he wanted her to be missing him and for her to be as miserable as he was.

"Yeah, I haven't met them yet but I'm going to this afternoon..." Ethan trailed off. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her and then for her to do the same, but at the same time he didn't want to ruin her happiness.

"Don't mope about, okay? I hope your meeting goes well, I'll talk to you later, Hilbert's going to teach me about battling techniques. Hey did I tell you that he's going to challenge the Elite Four when he's gotten eight gym badges? Bye Goldie!" Kris ended the call and Ethan was left standing in the middle of his room, holding the Pokégear with both hands. She was still the same person, still so full of life but she didn't seem to care about him. She could tell when even the smallest thing was wrong with him so why couldn't she tell now? Or was she too preoccupied with her new life to care about her old one?

He was overemotional, or at least that was the excuse he used after hurling his Pokégear at the wall.

"Ethan if you're not happy please tell me, you can talk to me. Well just get dressed, they'll be here soon." His mother patted him on the back and left him on his own. She'd never understand him. He changed into his everyday and looked at Kris's hat sitting on his desk. He stroked gently as though it were a cat but he also wanted to crush it out of anger. He sighed and put his hat on, backwards like usual and went downstairs just as the doorbell rang. His mother opened the door and was greeted by a surprise hug.

"Emily thanks for inviting us round. We'll have to return the favour one day, what about next week?" Jolene smiled, showing all her perfect white teeth. She walked inside the house and smiled brightly at Ethan who was standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway. Emily invited everyone to sit at the table but Jolene's daughter had spotted Ethan and happily skipped over to him, a small blue mouse like Pokémon following at her heels.

"Hi, I'm Lyra and this is my little Marill. What's your name? Do you have any Pokémon?" Lyra's big brown eyes sparkled and her Marill jumped up and down excitedly.

"I'm Ethan, I don't have a Pokémon yet but I'm hoping I can get one from Professor Elm." Ethan mumbled shyly.

"I've met him; he's a bit uh, clumsy isn't he? I really like your hat, mine is like a big marshmallow." Lyra giggled and Ethan couldn't help smiling though he did suspect that his mother had set this up to try and take his mind off Kris.

"Do you two want to sit at the table or do you want to have food up in Ethan's room?" Emily asked them. Lyra looked at Ethan hopefully.

"We'll go up to my room." Ethan said, taking the plates of food and walking up the stairs, Lyra following behind him, her footsteps light and dainty. They sat on the floor in Ethan's room, Lyra looking around at the few posters he'd stuck up and his pile of scrunched up clothes on the floor.

"This is really good, do you want some Marill?" Lyra offered to her Pokémon who was sitting by her side.

"Sorry about the mess, I've been a bit down lately." Ethan shifted around uncomfortable, suddenly minding what she thought of him.

"It's fine, my room is terribly messy, you should see it. We could sort it together and have fun seeing what stuff I have. Why have you been down then?" Lyra smiled and shovelled food into her mouth.

"My friend Kris, she lived in your house before you moved here, she moved away obviously and I was hoping she'd be miserable without me but she's happy and I'm not. Is it bad that I want her to feel sad?" Ethan told her, finally telling someone how he felt. He started to relax a little.

"I don't know, I don't think it's bad. Wow is that one of those rare ancient Mew cards?" She stood up and picked the card up off his desk.

"Yeah, I won it in a contest a while ago. It's my favourite possession." Ethan said feeling somewhat proud of it. Kris was never really that impressed with it, knowing that it wasn't actually that rare and that a thousand of them had been given away.

"I always wanted one of these, I'm going to have to search everywhere for one of these. I'm glad you're my friend Ethan, I was worried everyone my age would make fun of me because they did where I last lived. But that doesn't matter, want to go outside and play with Marill, I've taught her some tricks." Lyra picked up the blue mouse Pokémon and stood in the doorway. Ethan nodded enthusiastically and the two of them rushed out the door, quickly giving an explanation to their parents. He was surprised at how quickly he'd recovered from Kris going but even though she'd done the same, he still felt guilty but Lyra was good at distracting other people as well as herself.

**So I've decided to sort of lump the 100 theme challenged into this so I'll have that running alongside writing whatever else I want for this. Maybe I'll finish this for once.**


	6. Shadows Linger

The stairs creaked as Blue slowly made his way up through the tower. He gripped the torch tightly, not daring to shine it anywhere else but in front of him out of fear for what could be lurking in the shadows. Pokémon Tower was located in Lavender Town; a town infamous for having the largest Pokémon graveyard in the known world and Blue was either stupid or brave enough to go to where most of the graves were situated. When he heard people talking about rumours of ghosts inhabiting the tower and scaring away intruders he just had to go dispel these rumours.

"They're just rumours, rumours can't hurt you." Blue spoke to himself to break the crushing silence but it only made things worse, the way his voice echoed and sounded so empty unnerved him. He always had his Pokémon to protect him but he had no idea how well they would work against the supernatural or if they even would. Nevertheless, he continued his ascension, knowing that if he could just do this maybe he'd finally beat Red at something.

"Unidentifiable life form present." His Pokédex suddenly said from his pocket that he jumped. He took it out and held it up so it could scan the area. His hand was shaking and the beam of light would quickly reveal the outlines of objects before concealing them in the darkness. Some shapes seemed to be disturbingly human like in the low light. A distant creaking could be heard and despite all this Blue persevered; if he could make it to the top then he could rub it in Red's face.

"Don't be such a wimp Blue, you can do this." He encouraged himself onwards though it did make him think he was losing his mind. He held his Pokédex out at arm's length once he reached the next floor up. As it scanned he heard the creaking again only it seemed closer than before. Someone was following him, he was sure of it. And voices that appeared to be coming from directly above him. He questioned whether or not he was stupid enough to continue but the creaking grew nearer and now he was trapped, whichever way he went he would encounter something.

"Go away..." A voice said from somewhere. Blue frantically pointed the torch in every direction, trying to find the source. It was definitely in the same room as him but was nowhere to be found.

"Leave now!" The voice said angrily and with a distinctly ghost like tone to it. A figure appeared in front of him, it wasn't like anything he'd seen before. Out of instinct he pointed the Pokédex at it but it was an unidentifiable life form.

"W-who are you?" Blue stepped backwards, glancing at the stairs. The figure doubled in size and lunged at him and he ran down the stairs, dropping the torch along the way. He suddenly slammed into someone on the stairs and they both fell onto the floor. The other person's torch rolled across the floor and Blue scrabbled to grab it and shone it in the person's face, it was Red.

"I never thought I'd be glad to see you." Blue laughed with relief. Red stood up and dusted himself off and looked at Blue who was kneeling on the floor, he may have been concerned for his rival but it was difficult to tell. Red took the torch off him and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"There's a ghost, a real one not a ghost type Pokémon. You can go up there if you like but I'm getting out of here." Blue gabbled but he didn't get up, he stayed there shaking and possibly crying but he didn't even know. Red held a hand out and Blue accepted his help to stand up then suddenly hugged Red who awkwardly patted him on the back.

"I-I'll see you around." Blue mumbled and walked quickly out of the tower and into the night. As he felt tears roll down his cheeks he wondered what possessed him to think that going there was a good idea. He thought about going back to stop Red from going there but he quickly came to the realisation that Red was braver than him or at least didn't show that he was scared. Blue grudgingly admired him for it but would never dare admit. He didn't want to Red to think he actually liked him.

**I had trouble thinking up the title for this one, I couldn't think of anything interesting and I'm lazy so that'll do.**


	7. Big Town, Small Dreams

Hilbert walked carefully through the tall grass, hoping to come across a shiny Gothita that had recently been spotted. If he could catch it then he could enter it in a special tournament exclusively for Pokémon of different colourations. A family of Liepard eyed him cautiously as he moved closer to them.

"Hey don't worry, I won't hurt you." Hilbert said softly, holding out his hand to them. The largest one began to step forward but all of them suddenly took off when they heard a loud squealing and heavy footsteps.

"Hey Hilbert you'll never guess what's just happened!" Kris ran towards to him and didn't stop in time so she fell flat on her face.

"Kris, keep your voice down. I'm trying to find a rare Pokémon." Hilbert sighed and started picking grass out of her blue hair that was tangled enough as it was. She was still wearing her pyjamas just with a jacket over the top. She didn't even have shoes on.

"Sorry, I'm just so happy. My parents have just agreed to get me my very own Pokémon! When I get it can you be my first opponent?" Kris squealed again, making sure any Pokémon nearby didn't get within a certain radius of them.

"That's great but I might not be able to be your first opponent, I'm challenging the gym in two days so I need to prepare for that and then I'll be off to the next town." Hilbert stood up and dusted himself off. Kris folded her arms and huffed like a little kid but quickly returned to her usual mood.

"I'm getting my Pokémon tomorrow. I could do some training and I could go with you." She looked up at him hopefully. "Or do you not want me to?" She said when she saw his face.

"No it's that it's just, uh... what if your parents don't want you to?" Hilbert stammered slightly as he spoke. Kris was a good friend despite only knowing her a few days but she was so clumsy and noisy that it would make things difficult.

"I'll ask them. I'm pretty sure they'll say yes since I'll have my own Pokémon for protection." Kris smiled and stood up. Hilbert smiled unwittingly, not wanting to disappoint her. Kris wanted to go ask that very minute so she dragged him along with her, away from his hunting. The door slammed against the wall as she opened it and when it closed there was a large dent in the wall, showing that this was how she entered her house.

"Hi Kris, why are you still in your pyjamas and who is this?" Her mother asked. She'd forgotten that she'd never told her parents about Hilbert.

"This is my friend Hilbert. Mum, when I get my Pokémon can I go on journey with him? He's challenging all the gym leaders and I want to do that too." Kris said. Hilbert stood near the door awkwardly as Kris's mother looked at him.

"Well I suppose so as soon as your Pokémon licence is verified which won't be for a few weeks." Her mother told her. Kris stamped her foot.

"I haven't got a few weeks; he'll be gone in a few days." Kris looked she was on the verge of a tantrum. Hilbert excused himself and hurried back to where he was previously on route five though it wasn't long before Kris came after him.

"What is it now?" Hilbert sighed exasperatedly. She didn't seem to be that much of a little kid the first night they met.

"Why did you leave?" Kris replied immediately.

"You were acting like a five year old, it was embarrassing."

"Stop treating me like I'm so young, I'm nearly eleven."

"And I'm nearly fourteen. Look I have to go; I promised Hilda we'd train together." Hilbert began to walk away but Kris grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Who's Hilda?" She asked uncharacteristically seriously.

"She's a friend, geez you're beginning to sound like a jealous girlfriend." He pulled his arm away from her grasp and walked away but He hadH

had to run when she started following him. He heard her fall over and start to cry. He looked over his shoulder at her and felt guilty so walked back to her and assessed her injuries which were nothing more than minor scratches.

"Leave me alone." She mumbled and drew her legs up to her chest, sitting in the middle of the path.

"I'm sorry Kris, I really am. I just think you're maybe not ready to be mature just yet; you have to admit that you do act like a child but in a good way most of the time. We can still be friends though and when you want to go on your journey I'd be happy to be your companion." Hilbert smiled and held her hand. She had small tears running down her face and wiped them away with her free hand.

"Do you have to go? You're my only friend now. Ethan won't answer any of my calls or messages. I'll miss you." She sniffed and he dabbed at her new tears with his sleeve.

"I promise I'll return. You're my friend and I never let my friends down. How about you come with me and watch Hilda and I train together, I'll lend you one of my Pokémon and we can battle." Hilbert offered and she nodded vigorously. He helped her stand up and they walked down the path together, Kris having cheered up considerably ran ahead and then skipped back to his side. The situation was all so familiar to her and she knew how it would end and didn't know if she could handle it again.

**I'm trying to move away from this group of characters but they're just too fun to write. **


	8. Draw Me Wings So I Can Fly

Misty put on her usual congratulatory smile as she handed out yet another gym badge to yet another kid who wanted to be a Pokémon master. All their faces seemed to blend into one after a while and their teams were all the same. It was those times when she would gaze longingly at the door, hoping that he would walk through it and want to travel once more.

"Hey Misty why don't you take some time off, I'll watch the gym for you." Daisy, one of her three older sisters, offered and handed her a towel to dry herself off.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" Misty took the towel and asked suspiciously. The last time she'd left Daisy on her own she'd try to teach her Skitty how to swim.

"Okay maybe I am planning something and I want you to be out of the way for about three hours. So can you just go?" Daisy put one hand on her hip and shooed Misty with the other.

"All right then, I guess I can visit Tracey and all the Pokémon at the ranch." Misty agreed reluctantly and went to change. She looked at the clothes hung up in the wardrobe, what she used to wear when travelling. None of it still fitted of course so she had no reason to keep them but she still couldn't bring herself to do it. She picked random clothes and put them on and then tied her orange hair up into a side ponytail.

"Have fun, don't come back until late." Daisy waved to Misty as she exited the gym and into the cool evening air. It was quite a long journey back to Pallet Town but she had time, something that was becoming increasingly rare. It took nearly an hour to get there and halfway there she considered turning back and wandering around Cerulean City for a few hours but seeing the tiny town in the sunset reassured her that she made the right choice. She decided to take a small detour first before going to visit Tracey, to visit someone else and ask them a question that had been on her mind for a long time.

"Hi Delia, how're you?" Misty leaned on the garden fence and asked. Delia smiled in return and handed a watering can to her Mr. Mime.

"I'm fine. Mimey's just helping me garden, what brings you here?" Delia raised her sunhat so her eyes were visible. She tried to think back to the last time she'd seen Misty, it must've been at least a few years, the last time Ash came to visit.

"Daisy wants me out of the house to plan something. Has Ash been here lately?" Misty traced the grooves of the fence with her finger, trying to act like she wasn't that interested.

"No, I don't know what he's up to. He's preoccupied I guess but I still wish he'd call to let me know he's alright, I worry about him so much." Delia sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, well I need to get going. Bye." Misty hurried off, feeling embarrassed. Of course he wouldn't be there so why did she get her hopes up? It was a short walk from the house to the lab but before knocking on the door she looked over the green fields with hundreds of Pokémon just having fun. Her mind wandered off and she jumped when she heard a voice.

"Can I help you?" It was only Professor Oak He was standing in the doorway of the lab with a Bulbasaur by his feet. Ash's Bulbasaur.

"I've come to see Tracey." She said and almost on cue Tracey appeared, looking over the professor's shoulder.

"Come in then, it's feeding time for us and the Pokémon." Professor Oak stepped aside to let Misty in. She was immediately waylaid by Tracey on her way to the kitchen who dragged her outside.

"I've got a couple of things I want to show you." Tracey flapped the pages of his sketchbook until a letter fell out onto the floor. Misty recognised the handwriting on the envelope, it was Ash's.

"But, his mother said she hasn't heard from in ages. When did you get this?" She held the letter in her shaking hands. Dozens of questions raced through her mind but one stuck out more than any other: why wasn't this sent to me?

"A few days ago. I haven't read it yet, I was hoping you'd come here soon. Open it." He said, rearranging his sketch book. Misty gently prised the envelope open and took out the piece of paper inside. She read it carefully to make sure she understood it properly.

"He says that he'll be coming back here in a few weeks and then he'll explain everything and that he didn't contact sooner because he didn't want us to worry about him. It doesn't really make any sense but I don't care, oh Tracey he's okay." Misty suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

"That's great. There's one other thing I have for you, sort of as a late birthday present because I forgot your last one." He took out a piece of laminated paper and handed it to her, his face growing red as she looked it.

"Oh it's beautiful, thank you so much." She said in awe of his art skills. He'd drawn her with a pair of wings like an angel's on her back and she was flying above all her friends. She hugged him again and held the drawing up at the sky so it looked as though it were really happening, they were all in the same place and whenever one of them wandered off she could fly after them and bring them back to where they belonged. Safe and sound.

**I finally got round to doing something anime based and I do try to post at least one a day but I didn't yesterday because I spent two hours sifting through clothes so I could cosplay as Gary Oak in school today and I was tired afterwards. If it's any consolation, I was a pretty good Gary Oak.**


	9. Moments

"Lucario, do you think it would be wise to try and re-enter out hometown?" Gardevoir asked as they sat dangling their legs off the edge of a cliff. Lucario swung her legs back and forth, looking up at the fluffy white clouds that dotted the blue sky and tilted her head to the side.

"I don't know. We could go find somewhere else less disapproving although I don't see why we had to leave in the first place." Lucario shook her head, remembering that day. It was hard to think that it had only happened four days ago.

"Because our families are too concerned with their idiotic feud, and I use that word loosely. It's better this way but if you really want to we can go find somewhere else. I don't think they'll forgive us until they forgive each other, which is never." Gardevoir said bitterly. Lucario took hold of his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't care about them. It's you and me now and that's all that matters." She softly said, closing her eyes. It was early afternoon but they were both tired after not getting much sleep, both too nervous to do so.

"I think there was a small village not far from here, shall we go there?" Gardevoir suggested. Lucario seemed to take no notice, enjoying the moment so much that she blocked out everything else around her. She wondered if she really did want to go to a place where there were other Pokémon that could easily ruin the wonderful moments they had. But then again, she so badly wanted to be part of an accepting community that didn't care about her background.

"Let's go then." She said after a few minutes and lifted her head up; when she opened her eyes she had to blink repeatedly due to the bright sunlight. They waited a little while longer to savour the moment and then finally stood up. They walked hand in hand across the vast meadow, the soft breeze creating the only sound. It was so simple and so perfect that the two of them wanted the meadow to go on forever but it stopped as soon as they came across the small village.

The village had several large huts in a semi circle at the centre with stone paths leading off to many smaller ones; it looked as if only half the people were gathered at the centre. Lucario broke out into a smile at the sight and looked at Gardevoir to see his reaction which was similar. It seemed to be such a friendly place that they had high hopes for it to be their new home.

"Hi, can I help you?" A Raichu walked up to them and asked. Their bright and sunny voice matched the setting.

"We're looking for a place to live." Lucario blurted out. The Raichu smiled and led the two towards one of the huts inside of which was an office. They were both surprised that such a small and remote place had a real estate.

"Rai, have you been out recruiting Pokémon to live here again?" The Azumarill behind the desk sighed but had a smile on their face; it seemed to be the norm for that place.

"They wanted to live here. I'm going to go back out on scout duty, later." The Raichu exited the hut, leaving Lucario and Gardevoir to sort things out themselves.

"So you'd like a house, well that can be very easily arranged. We have so many empty houses, do you have a preference?" Azumarill opened a drawer and took out a box containing dozens of keys.

"Not at all. We just want a house." Lucario replied and within half an hour they'd been given a house. It was exactly like Lucario had dreamed of.

"That was surprisingly easy. Here we are then, our new home. Do you like it?" Gardevoir sat down in one of the chairs and enjoyed finally having something soft to sit on. Their makeshift beds were often just on the floor and one time in a tree though that attempt was unsuccessful and they fell out multiple times. The sheer perfectness of it all made him question if it was real or not, it all seemed like a charade that would fall apart at any moment.

"It's wonderful. But I will miss our uncomfortable nights out in the wilderness." She admitted and also sat on a chair. "While we were out there I wondered whether I was doing the right thing and if it was worth it. I considered going back to my family sometimes; convincing myself they'd welcome me back with arms wide open. But then every morning when you woke me up, I knew I'd made the right decision."

"I felt the same way too. I didn't know who was being the most idiotic, us or our families. But no matter how stupid I may feel, when I look at your face I know that I made the smartest choice ever by choosing you. I love you." He sat on the arm of her chair and looked into her eyes. She pulled him closer and they kissed. Physically, Gardevoir wasn't very romantic but he didn't need to be, his words did all the work.

"Gardevoir, I know this is sudden but, I want a baby." Lucario said. His face flushed red and he stood up.

"I don't know if that's possible and it is a bit sudden, we should wait a bit I think." He stammered and avoided eye contact with her. She was disappointed but smiled regardless, expecting that kind of response from him.

"Alright. Now let's go get some food, I'm starving." She jumped up and skipped out the door. He followed after her, skipping as well. Even after being forced from their homes and find a new one, they always found time to skip.

**I might have to revisit this one day and rewrite a little but I wanted to get this out soon since I haven't updated for a while. Also, hooray for involving actual Pokémon and the Mystery Dungeon universe.**


	10. For Glory and For Profit

"So why are we stealing Pokémon exactly?" The male rocket grunt asked as they exited the main headquarters after delivering yet another batch of Pokémon stolen from young trainers.

"What the boss wants, the boss gets." The female grunt replied and reattached her Pokéballs to her belt. "So where are starters being given out next?" She pulled out a tightly folded map from the small bag she had tied around her waist.

"I think at the Pokémon Centre in Cerulean City. So just through route five which should take about ten minutes to walk through without interruptions." He traced his finger along the map and poked the small circle marking the city hard with his finger and then helped his accomplice to refold the map.

"I wish we could have some better Pokémon. Rattata and Zubat are useless in most situations. How about you ask, Johnny, seeing as you're becoming a right little boss's pet." She dug him in the ribs with her elbow and he swatted her away.

"Shut up Em, just because I'm so useful and you're just jealous of my amazing knowledge and skills." Johnny boasted which prompted her to shove him into the bushes. He had quick reflexes though and pulled her down with him. They both laughed and stood back up, dusting themselves off and retaining their serious expressions as people passed by.

"So what'd you like better? This or being a fancy professor's assistant." Em asked as they continued down the path, avoiding any tall grass so they could get to their destination as quickly as possible.

"This is a lot more fun and exciting. I don't know if you know this, but Magikarp are incredibly dull and Pidgey like to eat worms. Amazing things I found out from two years of studying Pokémon." Johnny said sarcastically.

"Were you even nerdier back then than you are now?" She asked teasingly. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly, which gave her the answer. They reached Cerulean City and headed straight for the Pokémon Centre but didn't enter straight away. They examined all possible entrances and exits and decided on which ones would be easier to get to quickest and if needs be, stealthiest.

"I think we could drop in from the ceiling, drop a couple of smoke bombs to create some confusion, grab as many Pokémon as we can and then leave out the back and go west and then head back to the base." Johnny envisioned it in his mind and explained in to Em who agreed as her plan was usually to kick the doors down and demand they hand everything over.

"How do we get up to the ceiling?" Em stood on her tiptoes, somewhat expecting there to be a ladder somewhere. Johnny took out a Pokéball and pressed the button on it. A red beam of light emerged from it and took the form of a Crobat.

"She's my personal Pokémon from way back. I don't tend to use her because she doesn't like battling." He stroked the bat Pokémon on the head and then snapped his fingers. The Crobat took hold of Em and effortlessly flew her up and onto the roof and then did the same for Johnny.

"Alright, so have you got the smoke bombs?" Em grinned; maybe one of their big plans would be successful. Johnny produced the small round objects from his backpack.

"Okay, we drop down, light them and grab the Pokémon and then when we get outside Crobat will take them back to the base and we make our way back." He went over the plan again so that they both knew exactly what to do. Em nodded and took out a screwdriver and started to unscrew one of the panels of the roof. Johnny meanwhile, tied a rope around one of the vents when the panel had been taken off.

"I'll go in first." Em grabbed one of the smoke bombs and lit the fuse. Just as it was about to burn out she threw it down the hole where the panel was and into the Pokémon Centre. The two of them put on gas masks and lowered the rope down the hole and Em slid down it, shortly followed by Johnny and another smoke bomb.

"Someone get the police!" Someone shouted before they joined everyone else in coughing. Em and Johnny jumped over the counter and kicked the door down that led to the storage room. Smoke began to fill the room which provided them with even more cover. They grabbed as many Pokéballs as they could off the shelves and ran back out the door and over the counter.

"Out the side door." Em yelled over the panicked screams and coughing. They burst out the door and into daylight; they tore their masks off and threw them to the side.

"Crobat, we're over here." Johnny called out and the purple bat flew to their side, holding his backpack between her teeth. They dropped all the Pokéballs into the bag and Crobat flew away while Em and Johnny casually walked west. Sirens could be heard in the distance and soon an announcement was made over the various speakers placed around the city.

"This is Officer Jenny; two thieves have stolen Pokémon from the local Pokémon Centre. The only information we have are that they were one man and one woman and we suspect they are members of Team Rocket. Please report if you see any suspicious activity, thank you and be careful." The announcement ended and Em and Johnny turned to each other and smiled.

"We're not suspicious at all, are we?" Em asked, turning her jacket inside out to hide the large red R and Johnny did the same.

"Not at all. We are the epitome of discretion." He grinned.

"Stop being so posh with your big words." She took his hat off his head and tucked it under her arm. He responded by taking her hat and putting it on his head. They would always treasure those times, when they didn't have to maintain the serious demeanour of Team Rocket. But they wouldn't trade being part of it for all the free time in the world, they loved their job and did for two things: Glory and profit.

**Small delay on this due to a performance I had to do Wednesday and I was too tired to do anything afterwards. I might have to change my writing/posting pattern, I have something else that'll be taking up my time that isn't school.**


	11. Mount Silver

Red was awoken by a sudden slap to the face and bitter cold hitting every exposed part of his body. As his eyes refocused he could see someone leaning over him with red hair and piercing grey eyes. The person sighed irritably and helped Red to sit upright.

"I'm taking you off this mountain now, Red. I'm Silver and you can thank me later." Silver's voice was harsh but he gently supported Red as he stood up. Red shook his head and turned around, overlooking the border between Kanto and Johto.

"Look, I know why you're up here and you have to face the fact that Leaf is dead and she's not coming back." Silver said bluntly. Red's eyes widened as though he felt a sharp pain and turned back to face this mysterious boy who seemed to know about him.

"But that doesn't mean you can't continue with your life. You can't give up now, that's not what a champion does." Silver continued. Red's lower lip trembled which prompted a sigh from the red head. Red knew he'd been avoiding the truth for the past two years and even he knew that trekking up that mountain wasn't a good idea. Reluctantly, Red took a step forwards but then fell against Silver, resting his head on Silver's shoulder. It was an awkward moment as Red silently cried on the inside for a few minutes.

"Let's go, we can fly back." Silver said, sounding embarrassed when Red lifted his head up again. He unhooked a Pokéball from his belt and threw it in the air, summoning a Crobat. It was strong enough and big enough to carry both boys, especially Red who was a lot smaller than Silver had expected. It was only a short flight until they landed in Pallet Town and Silver returned the Pokémon. Red immediately for his house and opened it instinctively. His mother jumped and then froze when she saw him.

"Red you're okay." She whispered and slowly walked towards him then embracing him in a hug. Silver hung back and watched the touching family moment, feeling bitter about the fact if he did what Red had done, he wouldn't have that warm a welcome. When she had realised him from her hug, Red went over to Silver and thanked him by shaking his hand.

"I suppose I'd better be off and leave you to reunite." Silver said but still hung onto Red's hand for a reason he could not fathom. Luckily Red's mother invited him in so he didn't have to leave just yet.

"You went all the way up Mount Silver just to bring my baby boy back? I can't thank you enough." She had tears welling up in her eyes and Red shifted about uncomfortably at being called a baby.

"It's alright, honestly." He replied. There was an awkward atmosphere as both Silver and his mother wanted to be alone with Red.

"Red why don't you go to bed? You look very tired." His mother said concernedly. Red shook his head and stood up, walked to the door and then motioned for Silver to follow him, which he did. Red was headed for Viridian Forest; he used to love spending time there with Leaf. He hadn't gone anywhere near it since she died.

"Why did you want me to come with you?" Silver asked. He knew Red couldn't answer but had come prepared with a pen and paper which he handed to him. Red wrote hurriedly and then held the paper up.

"Because I wanted to." Was what Red wrote. Silver half smiled and looked up where the sunlight was filtering through the trees. They continued on walking and the sun began to set. Red stopped suddenly and Silver nearly walked into him.

"What is it?" Silver asked. For what felt like a long time all he could hear was Red's slow and steady breathing. Red eventually walked up to a tree and traced his finger along something. When Silver looked at it he could see that it was a heart carved into the tree with two small drawings inside the heart. A flame and a leaf. Silver then understood and carefully placed a hand on Red's shoulder. Red took the pen and paper out of his pocket but didn't write anything.

"Red, maybe we should go." Silver suggested but neither of them moved. Neither wanted to. Not until Red whipped round and hugged Silver tightly. He let go and scribbled something down on the paper and thrust it into Silver's hand. He unfolded it and turned the colour of his hair as he read it.

"I don't know why, but I like you. Kind of like how I liked her." Is what Red had written. Silver stepped backwards and Red stepped closer, and then came the inevitable. Both were unsure who made the first move but they did know that they liked the kiss. And Red was glad that it was Silver who had made him face the truth atop Mount Silver.

**The title of this story has two means, one of which sounds very wrong given the context of this story and you are wrong for thinking it despite the fact I pointed it out. So yeah.**


	12. Show Time

Hilda dropped her bag on the floor and jumped onto the sofa. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the softness. That particular sofa was the thing she loved the most about her job, and being able to spend so much time with her best friend even if it was supposed to be in a professional manner. The door opened and she opened one eye to see who it was.

"Hey Hilbert, ready for tonight's performance?" Hilda asked as he took off his jacket and hat and hung them on a hook.

"Always Hilda. We're doing a water based performance today, alongside one of these new upcoming stars, River or something like that." Hilbert walked up to the large mirror that took up the upper half of the back wall, above a long table with a large assortment of makeup.

"Oh great, so we have to show some newbie the ropes? Have you met her then?" Hilda sighed and sat upright and slipped her shoes off.

"Him, I've met him. He's alright, a bit uh, enthusiastic for my taste." Hilbert sat down on one of the chairs and picked up a bottle of nail varnish and inspected the colour of it.

"Under any other circumstances you'd be branded a weirdo but because you're in show biz it's alright. What time does the show start?" Hilda stood up and stretched her arms up in the air.

"Three hours, we've got one hour for costume and makeup and then two hours to be taught the routine but it's really easy and that River will be doing most of the work since it's his time to shine." He explained. The door opened again and two people walked in, a woman with bright pink hair that they recognised to be their manager and teenage boy with spiked black hair and an over the top grin on his face.

"This is River; he's starring with you two today. He knows the routine and everything so it should all go swimmingly, I'll go get hair and makeup and your costumes ready." Their manager pushed the boy through the door and hurried out.

"Hi, I'm a big fan of yours, you two are absolutely brilliant. I have to ask the typical fan question, are you two dating or is that just made up?" River gushed. Hilda rolled her eyes and Hilbert smiled awkwardly. They had been asked that question hundreds of times but no matter how many times they said no, the media refused to believe that a boy and a girl could just be friends.

"We're friends and that's it. It'd be easier if we were dating then everyone would stop asking all these stupid questions." Hilda spoke bitterly. River gabbled an apology but Hilbert thankfully stopped him and they dropped the subject. A few minutes later some other people entered the room and the three were sat down by the mirror and unable to move for the next thirty minutes.

"You look fabulous, well we all do." River admired the swirls of blue and white painted onto his cheeks. Soon afterwards their costumes were brought in. Hilda held hers up in disgust.

"I am not wearing this." She looked at it from multiple angles, it was a wetsuit but with sections cut out so she would be showing a lot of skin if she wore it. River and Hilbert escaped from that with theirs being whole. Hilda stormed out of the room to go yell at someone for trying to make her wear it.

"What's it like doing your job?" River asked, his voice was at a normal pace, which was odd. Hilbert thought for a while. It was indescribable and extraordinary and something that couldn't be put into words. He knew that he adored it but that was it.

"It's good. Most of the time." Hilbert settled for as an answer. River didn't pursue for any further explanation, he instead picked up an apple from a fruit bowl on a small table by the sofa. There was a loud knock at the door and before Hilbert could open it, the door swung open and probably made a dent in the wall.

"Hey Hilbert, I'm coming to see the show tonight and told the people here I was your friend and they asked me to give these to you, fan mail I think." A blue haired girl around River's age handed Hilbert a stack of letters and then spotted the face paints.

"Thanks Kris, oh River this is my... friend Kris." Hilbert introduced the two to each other and sifted through the stack to see if anything interesting popped out. Kris's eyes lit up as she looked at all the colours and thought about what she could do with them.

"You hesitated before saying friend, why's that?" River asked.

"You sound like the tabloids. I hesitated. So what?" Hilbert responded. Kris tore her attention away from the bright colours to intervene in the conversation.

"Why is that Hilbert?" Kris folded her arms. Luckily Hilda walked back in, giving Hilbert a distraction.

"Well that's the costume sorted, hey Kris. Come on then boys and let's get changed and rehearsing." Hilda dragged Hilbert and River out of the room leaving Kris on her own. She picked up the letters and started ripping them open and reading them. It was fan mail, mostly young girls who were infatuated with Hilbert. She threw them on the floor and left the room and went through to the stage area. It was empty but the lights were focussed on one spot and she stood there, for once being in the spotlight.

"Kris, what are you doing here?" Hilbert walked onto the stage. She turned to look at him and shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, I shouldn't be here." She went to walk away but he stopped her and gently touched her upper arm.

"What's wrong Kris?" He asked. She never could keep anything secret.

"I want to know what you meant when you hesitated about saying that we're friends, is it good or bad?" She looked anywhere but at his face.

"I don't know what it meant because I don't know what I feel. I don't know if it's you or Hilda, believe me I would love to make a decision about it but I just don't know. But Kris, I'll always love you in some way." Hilbert squeezed her shoulder and she stood on her tiptoes and moved her face closer to his but the moment was shattered by Hilda calling to them.

"Hey lovebirds, can you break it up? We've got to practice." Hilda grinned as they both looked at her sheepishly and shuffled towards her. "Come on then Hilbert, it's show time."

**I should've updated this earlier but I was ill and had schoolwork and I'm lazy. Is it obvious that Kris is my favourite character? I'll try and update more but I have exams coming up (two months to be specific) and I'll have to do revision for once so just a heads up about that.**


	13. Stuck In The Middle With You

"Psst, Calem." Shauna whispered.

"I'm not talking to you Shauna." Calem replied. Shauna frowned and tried to grab hold of his hand but he kept it out of her reach.

"Come on Lil' C. You've got no choice but to talk to me." She attempted to convince him but he still refused to even look at her.

"It's your fault we're in this situation. It's your fault we are tied together. It is your fault that we are trapped in a basement, Shauna. I have every right to not talk to you." Calem spat bitterly and shifted around so that the ropes weren't cutting into his wrists too badly. He looked around the dark basement where the only light was that coming from the small square window. It was completely empty apart from the two sitting in the middle of the room.

"I'm sorry Calem. I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to have fun with you and Serena." Shauna apologised and Calem instantly felt bad. He knew she didn't mean for it to happen and if anything he should have been blaming Serena. But to him Serena was an angel who could do no wrong.

"It doesn't matter. We just need to get out of here." He looked around once again to try and spot the door but he couldn't see one anywhere. He tried to remember back to when they were led into the basement. They had been blindfolded but he definitely remembered small steps, about ten. He remembered the sound of a door closing but not which direction it came from.

"Maybe Serena will come back to get us." Shauna suggested hopefully. But after she'd convinced them to play a game, blindfolded them and locked them in a basement, neither could be too sure of what she had planned for them next.

"I just can't believe she would do something like this." Calem shook his head and then Shauna had a sudden idea.

"Let's try standing up. Then we can have a better look round and try and find a door." She explained her idea. They had no other option so Calem agreed to it. They had to get the timing just right but after several failed attempts with both of them being crushed by the other at some point, they eventually managed to both be standing up.

"Okay, so now we'll go around the perimeter of the room." Calem said. They walked over to one wall and started slowly walking around with Calem facing the wall. They went around the room what felt like dozens of times and still didn't find a door.

"Wait a minute, look over there. Just by the window you can see a little bit of light coming through a small hole in the wall. Maybe it's a key hole." Shauna noticed and dragged him over to it. She crouched slight and looked through the hole. The main source of light was far away but she could still make out what appeared to be steps. She jumped up and down with happiness, forgetting she was tied to Calem.

"But how do we get it open? It looks like it only opens from the outside." Calem asked after he'd looked at it. He was interrupted from trying to think of a way by Shauna suddenly slamming herself against the door.

"We can break it down. Now you try." Shauna said with a dizzy smile on her face, trying to ignore the pain. It took ten minutes and multiple injuries to both of them before the door finally gave in and fell onto the ground. The two wasted no time in running up the stairs, albeit awkwardly as they tried to do it sideways but they did it. There was another door at the top of the stairs but luckily it had a handle and opened on the first try.

"We're in Serena's house. I don't think anyone is home so let's just get out of here and get untied." Calem already started heading for the door but they both stopped in their tracks when they heard a loud creaking coming from upstairs.

"Hurry up and get out." Shauna urged and Calem continued walking but much slower and when they got to the front door, the creaking was now louder and appeared to be walking down stairs. He opened the door quickly and ran out and down the street.

"Now to get these ropes off." Calem was breathing heavily from exhaustion and fear. They were near a fence with arrow shaped bits of metal running along. He lifted their hands up and carefully positioned them around the metal so that only the rope was touching it and started cutting it. It cut quickly and the two could now move independently.

"Phew. Can I come back to your house? My mum's out so..." Shauna asked. Calem linked arms with her, which answered her question. They walked casually down the pavement, connected once again. Calem began to think he'd be spending his whole life with Shauna, and he didn't mind it one bit.

**I had inspiration. I was overdue for writing about the Kalos lot and Shauna's my favourite so I wanted to involve her in it. From now on, in my mind Serena will be the kind of person who probably has a dungeon and is just creepy. And I like it. It's much more interesting than most interpretations of her.**


	14. Rival Journies

Blaine sighed as he returned his Bulbasaur to its Pokéball; meanwhile Alana was kneeling on the ground with her arms wide open waiting for a hug from her Charmander. It was still wary of her so it stayed where it was and looked past her. Alana shrugged her shoulders and returned her Pokémon as well and walked up to Blaine.

"You just got lucky." Blaine warned her.

"Don't I always?" She replied with a big smile on her face. Not only had she won her very first Pokémon battle, but it was against the boy who lived across the street from her who was always a bit of a jerk to her. It was little surprise that she won though; she had speed and type advantage on her side. And he thought she was being kind in letting him choose first.

"I'll see you later Alana, I've got to go home and nurse my pride." Blaine was about to walk off but she grabbed his arm.

"How about we start our journey together? Y'know, take our first steps out of Pallet Town." Alana suggested. Blaine thought about this for a few moments but eventually agreed as it meant he wouldn't have to take his Pokémon to his house and tell his highly competitive father that he lost his first battle. The two of them walked side by side towards the narrow path that led out of Pallet Town and to route one. It was a short walk as Pallet Town was a small town.

"Together on three. One, two and three." Blaine said, feeling foolish but somewhat glad that he wasn't taking these momentous steps alone. Alana took hold of his hand at two and they both stepped forward on three. A young man in his early twenties was watching them and fondly remembered the time that he did the exact same thing.

"Now, do we stay together or go our separate ways?" Alana asked. Blaine hadn't thought ahead that far. He and Alana were friends but never that close, she was little miss popular in the town, though that wasn't a hard feat to achieve, and he was the kid that no one really liked apart from her but he didn't like how popular she was and could never really talk to her.

"How about we go to Viridian City together first and then decide? I need to take Bulbasaur to the Pokémon Centre." Blaine suggested and Alana agreed. They soon found out how difficult it was to walk through tall grass, which was taller than they'd expected and came up to their waists. Blaine was careful how he walked in case he accidently stepped on a Pokémon but Alana was half hoping for that so she could battle a wild Pokémon. Just as they were about to leave the tall grass a loud yelp was heard and a Rattata suddenly bit Alana hard on her right leg.

"Ow! Where'd you go lil' guy?" She kicked her leg up and the Rattata came with it. She grabbed it and watched as blood began to trickle out of the wound on her leg but she ignored it and took a Pokéball out of her bag and tapped the rat Pokémon on the head with it. It was sucked into the capsule device as a beam of red light and she clamped it shut with her two hands as it wriggled around. Blaine stared in disbelief as it stood still and made a distinct clicking noise.

"That's one way to do it." He said incredulously. She winked and put the ball back into her bag, nestled alongside her Charmander. She then turned her attention to the large bite mark on her leg that was bleeding quite heavily. Neither had any form of first aid and going back to their homes wasn't a good idea. Blaine had an idea and took off the white scarf he had hung loosely around his leg and knelt on the floor in front of her and wrapped around the wound and tied it in a knot. It wasn't great, but it would do until they got to the next to city.

"Man, being a trainer is tiring. And painful." Alana remarked and Blaine made a noise of agreement. The rest of their journey was rather uneventful as they avoided the tall grass and since it was still quite early in the morning, very few trainers were around and those who were saw that they were in a hurry and ignored them. Eventually, they reached Viridian City and headed straight for the Pokémon Centre.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" The nurse at the counter asked the pair of them as they approached.

"Hi, can you heal our Pokémon and also help my friend here who's injured her leg?" Blaine asked politely and handed over his Pokéball and Alana did the same. The nurse took the Pokéballs and placed them in a machine and pressed a button. She then led Alana somewhere else while Blaine stayed by the front desk and looked around. There were several trainers sat around tables, discussing their travels and sharing battle tips. There was a friendly atmosphere in the air and the accompanying cheerful music helped.

The doors suddenly swung open and smoke began to fill the Centre. Through the little light that was rapidly diminishing, Blaine could see two figures walking towards him. He reacted quickly by leaping over the front desk and grabbing a random Pokéball out of the machine and summoning whatever was inside. By the faint flame that stood in front of him, he could tell it was Alana's Charmander.

"Charmander, use uh, ember, on the two people walking towards us." Blaine quietly instructed the lizard Pokémon. He may not have been his trainer, but Charmander could sense that there was danger. Blaine lifted him up and as a hand reached towards them, bright, hot flames shot of Charmander's mouth, scorching whoever stood there. There was a loud shriek and as the smoke cleared, the two mystery figures had run away. The nurse came running over to Blaine with Alana trailing behind, hopping.

"What happened? I heard screaming, is anyone hurt?" The nurse asked breathlessly. Blaine was still slightly shocked but as he looked around and people started to applaud him and one person stepped forward to tell the nurse exactly what had happened.

"It was almost definitely Team Rocket, and they would have tried to steal our Pokémon if this boy here hadn't stopped them with his Charmander." The person finished their explanation.

"It's not my Charmander." Blaine said uncomfortably. He was glad he had helped but didn't like all the attention. Except for when everyone had gone back to whatever they were doing and it was Alana's turn to thank the two of them privately.

"You two must work well together, in our battle I told Charmander to use ember loads of times but he didn't." Alana patted the Pokémon on its head and smiled brightly at Blaine.

"I'm happy it's over, it was kind of scary. Let's take our Pokémon and leave." Blaine turned to leave but once again, Alana stopped him.

"Why don't we trade? Bulbasaur for Charmander. It's not that I don't want Charmander, but I think he likes you more. And if we do our journey together, then I'll never be apart from either of you." She suggested.

"Okay, let's do it on both accounts." He smiled and returned Charmander to its Pokéball. They went upstairs to the trading area and were given instructions on what to do but it was as easy as putting the balls in holes and pressing a button. A lot of things were controlled by buttons, they noticed. The two confirmed the decision first before both placing their hands over the button and pressing it.

"Now for food, Blaine, I'm starving." Alana took her Pokéball, now containing Bulbasaur, and ran out of the room and down the stairs, shortly followed by Blaine. He looked down at the red and white sphere as he walked behind Alana and wondered about what the future held for both him and his new friend. Sure, it would have its ups and downs, but there wouldn't be good moments without the bad and with Alana, there were sure to be plenty of both.


	15. Break

"May! You've only just recovered from breaking your ankle!" Brendan shouted to his sister who was walking across the roof of their house. Their parents had gone out to attend to something and the two been playing outside with a ball and May had thrown it on the roof and now was trying to get it back. It was lodged in the gutter and could easily have been retrieved by using a ladder but May said that was too difficult.

"I'm being extra careful, stop worrying Bren, it's not like I'm going to break my other ankle." May shouted in reply. She was making a joke but it was possible and likely. Brendan sighed as she finally climbed over the point in the triangular roof and started to lower herself down, trying to grip onto the tiles with her shoes.

"That's it; I'm coming up there with you." Brendan said to himself and went into their garden and jumped up onto the small bike shed by the side of their house. He tested the gutter first before deciding it was stable enough to use to pull him up onto the roof. He'd never done something like this before, he usually just watched May as she climbed things. He walked up the roof carefully, reaching the peak in ten minutes. May had made little progress as she was unable to get a good grip with her shoes. Brendan rolled his eyes and hopped down so he was stood next to her.

"You weren't kidding. Okay, you go get it then." May smiled and climbed back up and sat down. He didn't need to go any further, he just kicked the ball out of the gutter and turned to May.

"Let's get down, you go back that way, you're less likely to break your face doing that." Brendan said, sounding fed up as he continued making his way down the roof and lowering himself off it. He picked up the ball and went back through to the garden where May was standing, looking embarrassed.

"Thanks Bren, why don't we go inside and watch TV, I'm tired." May suggested. Brendan agreed and they went inside the house and sat down on the cream sofa in the living room.

"May can I ask you a question? Why do you do all this dangerous stuff? Like climbing up trees, skateboarding without a helmet or trying to scale down a cliff face before the instructor's finished talking." He asked. May fidgeted.

"I-I don't know. I just like it." May said.

"I really wish you didn't, it's awful having to worry about you every time we leave the house. And when you go out on your own I'm never sure if you'll come back or not." Brendan looked away from her. May gently placed her hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"Oh don't do this to me; I hate it when you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." His voice gave a different impression. He didn't know why he was angry, she hadn't done anything wrong. Only a few minutes ago, they'd been having fun together and now they were sat in silence with obvious tension in the air and neither dared to break it. Eventually, May stood up and walked to the kitchen and turned on the kettle. Brendan glanced in her direction; he was supposed to monitor May when she did anything cooking related after she nearly poured scalding hot water on herself.

A sudden scream brought Brendan to his feet and running into the kitchen. This time she had done it, and she was sitting on the floor cradling her arm. He quickly hauled her to her feet and dragged her to the sink. He positioned her arm under the cold tap and turned it on fully. Water sprayed both of them and he couldn't tell if May was crying or laughing. After a few minutes he turned it off and threw her a tea towel to dry herself.

"Thanks Bren." She mumbled as she carefully wiped her arm. He hugged her gently and she gave a weak laugh.

"Now how about I make us some hot chocolate and you go sit far away? Mum and dad should be back soon anyway." Brendan smiled at her and she did as she was told. He couldn't stay mad at May, she was like a child. She needed looking after. He wondered if she'd always be like this and if he'd always have to be there for her. He didn't know if he minded or not, but if he had to, he would always look after her. Even if she was completely broken.

**I have not written in a while, can I give exam preparations as an excuse? It's the Easter holidays now, so I should be able to write more but I make no promises because I'm expected to be revising every waking moment. If you have any requests for a chapter-thing feel free to leave them, I make no guarantee I'll do them but maybe it'll motivate me a little more. Thanks for reading.**


	16. Different Portraits

Calem spilt his lemonade as Shauna accidently kicked him in the knee. She smiled apologetically and he responded by lightly kicking her back. The two were sat outside a cafe in Aquacorde Town, enjoying the summer afternoon and another day of managing to avoid Serena. It had been two weeks since she locked them in her basement and every day they'd successfully avoided her, which was a difficult feat for living in such a small town.

"This morning I got a letter from Trevor, he said that we might be getting a Pokémon from Professor Sycamore. Me, you and Serena. Isn't that great?" Shauna told him. A large smile grew on Calem's face. Having his very own Pokémon had been a dream of his for a long time and getting one would also mean he could take on the gym challenge and eventually the Elite Four, then maybe people would stop associating himself with his mother, famous Rhyhorn racer, Grace.

"I wonder what Pokémon they'll be." Calem's mind wandered as he imagined his future starter. Would it be the ever popular Eevee? Or maybe the Kanto native Charmander.

"Trevor also said that I should tell you and Serena about it. I think I should." Shauna said and Calem's smile faded. He knew that they had to, it would cruel not to. Serena also wanted her own Pokémon and had dreamed of it almost as long as Calem had.

"Yeah we should. Let's do it now and get it out of the way." Calem gulped down the remainder of his drink and stood up. Shauna hesitated but did the same. They walked away from the table and down route one. They walked slowly towards Serena's house, both wondering if they could just turn around and not do it but neither wanted to be a coward. Calem knocked on the bright blue door and Shauna reached up and pressed the button for the door bell. Serena opened the door and smiled when she saw the two.

"Hi guys, want to come in?" Serena sounded so cheerful, like her two best friends hadn't been ignoring her for a fortnight. They both nodded and walked inside, Serena motioned for the two to sit down on the sofa and she sat on the arm of it.

"We've had some great news, Lil' S! Professor Sycamore is going to give all three of us a Pokémon." Shauna announced. Serena blinked at her and then broke out in a smile and clapped her hands.

"That's fantastic! Oh I do hope my Pokémon is cute and fluffy." She said excitedly. Calem stared at her in disbelief. Maybe she was trying to forget what had happened over the past few weeks. He hoped that's what she was doing so he decided not to bring it up.

"Why don't we all go out and get a drink together to celebrate? There's a lovely little cafe in Aquacorde Town that Calem and I were just at." Shauna suggested. Serena nodded eagerly and then excused herself to get dressed into something else.

"What do you think is up with her?" Calem whispered to Shauna once he was sure Serena was out of earshot. Shauna shrugged and looked around Serena's living room. A large portrait of Serena drew her attention. Her head was tilted down slightly and she was looking up and straight out so it was as though her eyes followed you around the room. Her hair was loose and dark blonde, it was shorter than it was then. She was wearing a flowing white top that gave her body no definitive shape and made her look a lot younger. Calem was looking at this portrait too, admiring her beauty when the real Serena came walking down the stairs.

"Okay let's go then." Serena smiled at them sweetly; she noticed the two looking at her portrait. "I was eleven when that was done. It was all I wanted for my birthday; I wanted to be a model back then."

"You look really pretty." Calem commented. Serena curtsied and skipped over to the front door and opened it. The three walked outside together and back down route one. Calem and Shauna had expected a much different scene to take place when they went to Serena's house. She seemed to have genuinely forgiven the two for ignoring her and it would only have made sense for them to forgive her. But they couldn't bring themselves to do that yet and it was at the back of their minds the whole afternoon.

"It's getting late; I'd better be getting home. I'll see you two tomorrow then, bye." Serena yawned and walked away. Calem watched her and she turned to wave at him, a small smile on her face. He returned the wave and wondered what was going through her mind, and if he'd ever understand her.


End file.
